Eldest D
Overlaps: Wake Forest, Vanderbilt
Also applied: Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Emory, Georgetown, Indiana, North Carolina, Northwestern, NYU, Pomona, Swarthmore, USC, Washington & Lee
Really considered: Middlebury, Davidson, Richmond
Attends: Vanderbilt
Middle D
Overlaps: Boston College, Wake Forest, Vanderbilt
Also applied: British Columbia, Miami (FL), Michigan, Northwestern, Pepperdine, USC, U Washington
Attends: Vanderbilt
I am not convinced that Wake Forest and Vanderbilt are overlaps, but I also recognize that some/many will disagree LOL. I see them as very different, but I assume they were good overlaps for your kids.
To me, the WF campus is quieter. Vanderbilt has more energy, more of a presence, more of a hustle and bustle type of vibe etc. More cars, more kids jogging off campus such that the surrounding area meshes with the campus, etc.
I have no doubt that Wake Forest is very strong in terms of academics.
I think about that too - that Vanderbilt is not set aside on it’s own like Wake or Richmond. D really hasn’t seen a campus like that. Maybe BC is a little more like that. And Vandy would be the most diverse campus overall. I hesitate to get too deep in the woods on Vanderbilt unless it’s a real option come end of March.
Vanderbilt is a very tough admit for everybody. Fingers crossed!
I get it – my friend visited Vandy early Spring 2019 with her D19. They both loved it!! Then her D was not admitted. 
It’s all fine now – she’s very happy at Michigan.
I read Overlaps, as schools that mapped to D21’s journey not similar school cultures. Haven’t visited any of the “southern” schools and none on my D22’s list … yet. Vanderbilt continues to intrigue me - but I am too old 
and my 3 are not always open to my opinions !
I took the overlap to mean that @bloomfield88 daughters’ applications overlapped with @homerdog daughter’s applications.
In my view, Vanderbilt & WFU are not similar.
According to the information supplied by the schools to the Fiske Guide To Colleges editors, Vanderbilt & WFU are not overlaps with respect to applicants.
To me, the main difference is in the composition of the student body.
P.S. But I do understand that @bloomfield88 was referring to WFU & Vanderbilt as overlapping applications by their kids.
Agreed. And Wake’s new president is from Vanderbilt so that might mix things up a bit there.
RE: Your post #1814 above.
Looking back, do you think that your son’s top 3 choices were correct for him.
I look back and realize that the top 3 for our most recent were the best choices then & now.
My point is that regardless of another’s school selection, you & your daughter are making selections based on her preferences. And that is the way that it should be.
Many have to select primarily on the basis of need–especially with respect to financial aid.
@Publisher Are you asking me? Yes. I think S19’s final choices were the best for him. It’s hard to say what his top three were as, in the end, he kind of had a top two - Bowdoin and Davidson - but that’s because he had visited almost all of the schools on his list and he had an idea of what he liked best before decisions even came out. It’s different with kids this year. A lot of them don’t know what their favorites are because they haven’t visited and this year is so weird. I know a lot of kids out there choose schools without visits but, for S19 and for D21 who were/are undecided on major during the college search, a lot of the choice comes down to fit in other ways - location, campus, social life, extracurricular opportunities, career center, etc.
D has a pretty clear idea about whether each of her schools “fit” in most ways except for social scene and campus/location so that’s why visits are important.
That’s interesting not a lot of kids apply to both. I’ve applied to both WFU and Vandy but haven’t had a chance to visit either campus and likely won’t. In your opinions, what would you say are the main differences, besides Nashville vs suburban Winston-Salem.
For our Dallas HS, Wake isn’t in Vandy’s top 10 overlaps. The top five are UT/UVA/SMU/UNC/USC. For Wake, Vandy is #2. The top five are UT/Vandy/UVA/UNC/UGa
I think that if this student has other acceptances (which I anticipate will happen) and/or gets to visit schools in California, Richmond might start dropping down on the list.
I see her on a busier campus. She likes school spirit. She’s a dancer. Richmond and WF are great schools, but I am not 100% sure about fit. She really has to revisit the social piece.
This is very stressful!
Yes, to be clear, when I wrote overlaps, I was referring to those colleges my daughters applied to which overlapped with homerdog’s daughters application list. Homerdog specifically asked for these application ‘overlaps’ with her D’s and where other kids eventually attended.
Lol.
And yes. It’s likely her final options will have varying amounts of energy and action on campus and I honestly don’t know where she lands on that right now. Visits could be important for that factor so hoping for more kids out on campuses for April visits.
Our family has personal experience with the Wake and Vanderbilt overlap (have an alum from each) and I would say there are plenty of similarities.
We felt the students all seemed very similar, academics are top-notch and a huge amount of both our kid’s friends had applied to both schools. Both schools are in that elusive “hybrid” category of being major research universities (not LACs) yet have small class sizes which provide that personal experience of a much smaller school. They also both have plenty of rah-rah, are associated with major medical centers and located in the South with nice weather! At our son’s private HS, the college counselor would refer to these schools (along with handful of others) as “all the usual suspects” - meaning they always showed up on student’s lists when they wanted this type of school.
@twogirls mentioned she thought Wake’s campus was more quiet than Vanderbilt’s and I would disagree. Our Wake son had a WAY more active campus life than our Vanderbilt son. Maybe it is because Nashville is such a draw or that campus is more spread out? Wake’s campus is more cohesive, the Freshman dorms are a stones throw from the academic buildings and the kids really are engaged in life on campus. Obviously, this was just our family’s experience - YMMV.
In the end, you can’t go wrong with any of the schools on the list. Totally agree this is very stressful!
Vandy is a tough ask for kids from Illinois. Know people also waiting but…
So I think she does a complete 180 and stays home and goes to UIUC 
.
I would agree with @dwhite’s synopsis. We live near Nashville and have two children at Wake. I’ve spend many hours on both campuses.
Vanderbilt’s campus is compact and is bordered by the busy and vibrant Broadway/21st Avenue commercial corridors. It is somewhat overwhelmed by the adjacent (and growing) VU Medical Center buildings. Athletic facilities, while adjacent, have an urban feel to them. The campus is busy during the day with students going to and from class. The campus vibe is intense and academic, and I mean that in a good way. Students spend a lot of time off campus, Nashville’s varied attractions being a big draw.
Wake Forest’s campus was designed in the 1950’s when the school moved from Wake Forest, NC to Winston-Salem. The architect Jens Frederick Larsen, also responsible for the updated master plans of Dartmouth, Bucknell, and Colby, was able to start from scratch using the Reynolds family estate as his canvas. It feels old, but isn’t. Wake students live on campus for three years at a minimum, so there is a large residential population at all times. Freshman, in particular, spend a lot of time on site. Wake’s housing design is ingenious and deliberately moves students from dependence to independence along the way. All freshman housing is together at the south end of the campus and they spend a lot of time together. Sophomores live in the dorms surrounding the main quad, and upperclassmen move to the apartment style dorms on the north campus. Most Wake Forest activities occur on campus save major sports events which are at top notch facilites about a mile away. Reynolda Village, a small shopping area, and the Reynolda House Museum and Gardens compound are owned by the school and border the campus. There are wooded walking trails through the Reynolds estate and downdown Winston Salem is close, about a five minute drive.
Both schools share a work hard, play hard vibe. My Vanderbilt graduate friends, some of whose children attend Wake, say WFU reminds them of Vandy when they were students there. That’s a fair comparison, I’d say.
Vanderbilt has a distinct campus that is not in the downtown area (but pretty close) and is fairly spread out, with the hospital in the middle. However, like the description of Wake above, the freshmen all live on one side of campus in the Commons (10 dorms), and it is a fantastic experience for most. There is a strong sense of community in the Commons, and the dorms have a friendly competition in a variety of areas during the school year. The freshmen orientation program provides weekly meetings, activities, and support within the student’s assigned group so they also get a chance to meet students from other dorms.